Apple Cider Doughnut Cake

Apple-picking season really means apple cider doughnuts, the fragrant treat that apple farms smartly sell as post-picking snacks. Usually made from boiled-down apple cider, these crunchy, craggly cake doughnuts are irresistible — especially when they’re still warm from the fryer.

Making fried doughnuts at home, however, is a project I rarely want to tackle, which is why I herald fall with an apple cider doughnut cake instead. This is my version of a favorite from Serious Eats — I’ve made their recipe so many times that I’ve streamlined it to include a store-bought shortcut, and worked out the best way to get cinnamon sugar into every nook and cranny. The result is a super-tender Bundt cake that’s so moist it lasts for days, and has a crunchy crust coated with plenty of spiced sugar. It’s my gift to you in hopes that you’ll get as much happiness out of it as I do this fall.

The original recipe calls for cooking apple cider and apples together until soft, then puréeing it in a food processor. This process is time-consuming and messy, so I streamlined it by subbing in an easy-to-find shortcut: applesauce. Store-bought unsweetened applesauce still gives good apple flavor and makes the cake much, much easier to make. Go ahead and grab your kid’s applesauce cups if you want — two will do nicely here. I know there’s no apple cider in the cake, but you’ll forgive me once you taste it.

Bundt cake pans are one of the easiest ways to make a pretty cake with zero decorating skills. I love this fleur-de-lis pan, but there are so many molds to choose from. For this cake, you want a Bundt pan that holds about 10 cups of batter. A lot of pans only give the diameter dimension (which varies depending on the design), so the best way to check that you have the right-sized pan is to measure the volume: Just measure how many cups of water you need to fill up the pan. If you have a larger 12-cup pan, you can use it, but know the cake will be wider but not as tall.

After the cake comes out of the oven, you’ll immediately brush the bottom with melted butter and sprinkle with a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg. (If you have whole nutmeg, grate it finely and you’ll be rewarded with an amazing warm spice flavor.) The butter helps the sugar stick to the cake, and you’ll do the same brushing and sprinkling once the cake cools some more and is unmolded.

An easy way to coat the sides of the cake is to gently pick up and tilt small sections toward the center while sprinkling. Be patient with this part and sprinkle in a few rounds, as the first coatings will be absorbed by the butter. You’ll be rewarded with a crunchy coating that contrasts beautifully with the tender, moist cake inside. Eat it for breakfast, dessert, or an afternoon treat — this cake is welcome any time of day.